The present paper aims at assessing an approximate model to evaluate hygrothermoelastic stress in composite laminated plates. The approximate model is based on straight hypotheses (classical lamination theory of plates) and is able to simulate the effects of complex hygrothermal conditionings, such as those encountered in the life of real structures. For the purpose of the assessment, a 3D analytical solution for hygrothermally stressed plates is employed. The approximate model for plates is also compared to an analytical model for cylinders under transient and cyclical hygrothermal loads. This is done in order to assess the capabilities and the limits of a simplified model for plates to represent also the behaviour of cylinders.